Un equipo internacional de astrónomos, liderado por Tariq Shahbaz, del Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), y que incluye al también investigador del IAC Jorge Casares, ha descubierto lo que podría ser o bien la primera estrella de neutrones “masiva” o bien el primer agujero negro “de poca masa” observado. Este exótico descubrimiento podría ser el primer indicio de lo masivo que puede llegar a ser un objeto antes de curvarse sobre sí mismo en el espacio para convertirse en un agujero negro. La vida de las estrellas es similar a la nuestra – nacen, envejecen y, finalmente, mueren. La

A study comparing the oxygen abundance of stars with planets to stars without planets has been completed. By looking at various indicators of the O abundance, it was discovered that stars with planets generally present higher oxygen abundances. These studies are part of an IAC programme to determine whether significant differences exist between the chemical compositions of stars with and without planets (Ecuvillon, Israelian et al., 2006, A&A 445, 633).

Work by C. Gallart, M. Zoccali y A. Aparicio has been published in the Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics. The article reviews current knowledge about star populations in nearby galaxies, which allow us to study the galaxies' history and evolution (Gallart, Zoccali and Aparicio, 2005, ARAA 43, 387). ARAA volumes are published yearly, by invitation, and have a wide circulation within the astronomy community.

An anomalous emission has been detected in the microwave region of the Perseus Molecular Cloud. This work extends the frequency range of the studies being carried out by the WMAP satellite and finds between 11 and 17 Ghz per emission, 10 times greater than can be explained by normal emission processes in the Milky Way. One possible and attractive explanation is the presence of fullerenes, the bipolar electric emission of which is compatible with the observations (Watson, Rebolo et al., 2005, ApJ 624, L28).

The galactic gradient of C has been determined for the first time using recombination lines in HII regions. Results from these lines are more reliable than those derived from the traditional collisional excitation lines, which are stronger but subject to variations of temperature in nebulae (Esteban et al., 2005, ApJ 618, 195). These results have made it possible to greatly limit the number of possible models for chemical evolution in the Milky Way.

The abundances of oxygen and iron in metal-poor stars have been determined through non-LTE radiative transfer simulations in three-dimensional (3D) hydrodynamical models of their atmospheres. The performing of this type of calculations required to develop first very efficient numerical methods and computer programs. Taking into account that the atmospheres of the stars are 3D systems and the impact of non-LTE effects leads to very significant changes in the derived chemical abundances. It has been concluded that the metalicity of some metal-poor stars could be significantly larger than